Catch You Catch Me
by Amber13
Summary: Shin tries to make himself more attractive to Yankumi. But what does Yankumi find attractive?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue - Confession

Shin knew it frustrated his friends that he wouldn't discuss what it was that he liked about Yankumi. But what was the point? Even though he saw the same restlessness in his friends, he knew they wouldn't understand.

After he'd gotten kicked out of his prestigious school and left home, he'd just been drifting. Freed from the constraints of being a perfect student and son, he was unsure about what to do next. Certainly, he knew that he didn't want to go back to his old life, but no new course of action presented itself. Becoming the leader of the second years hadn't even been a conscious decision, just the cumulative result of a few fights and a few pranks that he'd engaged in to kill time.

He'd found himself sleeping a lot. The days had passed by in a fuzzy, cottony, slow sort of way.

When Yankumi had first arrived, he hadn't noticed her as anything other than another teacher to toy with. Someone to crush-but in a distant, impersonal kind of way-out of a general dislike for people who thought they were teachers. Nothing personal.

But she kept on doing interesting things. He was torn between fascination and dismay. He wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to be pulled out of his lethargy. Not by a teacher.

But inevitably, it happened. Things happened around her.

It wasn't so much that she was the focal point of everything (his dad was such a person) as that she was a catalyst. Around her, choices seemed clearer, truth was stranger than fiction. It was as if she was a character out of one of those tales.

He had been drawn in, despite himself. Most people didn't even notice it. They approached her orbit and were thrown into a completely different trajectory. She did things that people just didn't do, and caused others to follow suit, but in a bright, shiny kind of way.

Shin found himself observing her constantly, following her. He couldn't help it. Like staring at an accident or the way your eyes are drawn to a TV as you walk through the room.

Over time, what was first just a small speck of something, a dandelion puff in the wind, began to grow. He realized that this experience, like much of life, was transient. Graduation, that Olympus in the clouds during his days of lethargy now seemed right around the corner. They would go their separate ways.

It wasn't that she didn't care about him, she cared fiercely about all of her students. But the student-teacher relationship wasn't a lasting one. Sure, he'd be able to drop by and reminisce once a year or so. He couldn't even imagine such a life, a future muffled in cotton, slowly slumping into oblivion.

It was galling, that she had that spark, that he didn't. He felt sometimes like he wanted to capture her, take that spark. It was something desirable, all the more so because he wasn't sure what it was.

He knew that she was capable of long-term relationships, thrived on them. He saw it in her interactions with her family. The problem was, entering into that category as well.

So he devised a plan to catch her attention, to make himself special to her. And he told Kyou about it. He probably shouldn't have done that.

Next Chapter: Man Camp

A/N: Updates will be posted weekly. The story is manga-based, although anime or drama discrepancies may pop up.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1 : Man Camp

Shin slouched down in his seat on the bus, wondering not for the first time, what kind of idiot he was. Wearing a fundoshi was one thing, but a week in the mountains at some kind of man camp?

Still, if he could pull it off . . . His thoughts drifted to that moment 2 months ago when he'd been walking down the hallway in Yankumi's house. Her door had been partially open, just enough so that he could see a framed photograph of a man on the wall. Yankumi was staring up at the photograph with that glazed look that she normally reserved for Shinohara.

When he asked Kyou about the photograph, the man had simply led him into the dojo and pointed at a wall lined with photographs.

"That guy?"

"Yeah" Shin nodded, it seemed to be exactly the same photograph that Yankumi had in her room.

"That's last years Supreme Man. There's a week long contest in the mountains every spring. Kind of like what you did during the Matsuri."

So now here he was, competing for the chance to be on Yankumi's wall, stuck in a bus that smelled worse than Kuma's locker.

Surprisingly, he wasn't the smallest one on the bus. The guy sitting next to him was as scrawny as one of Fujiyama-sensei's pretty boys. But he wore the same kind of out of style red tracksuit that Yankumi favored, not to mention an even more ancient traditional top-knot, shaved head and all. The poor guy was staring resolutely at the floor, while his trembling hand rested on his knees. When his ticket was checked, he'd replied in an obviously fake, deep voice that had squeaked halfway through.

Shin knew the type, wimpy guys who were determined to become "real men". The guy would probably quit after the first day, but at least he was a better seat partner than one of the 300 pound gorillas that made up most of the rest of the group.

Just as Shin was thinking that the scrawny guy looked ready to puke and considering moving his bag, he got a look at the guy's face. They stared at each-other for a moment, eyes wide in recognition.

It was Yankumi.

Shin clamped his hand over Yankumi's mouth. She had a propensity for blurting things out, and he didn't want her to say something that might get her kicked off the bus. Having her along on this trip would make things more interesting.

He belatedly realized that this was the first time that he had ever touched her lips. They were soft. He dropped his hand abruptly, aware that his cheeks were probably flushing.

He glanced around quickly. Good. It didn't seem like anyone had noticed them.

"Thanks, Shin" Yankumi relaxed beside him, "I was so surprised to see you, that I almost spoke in my normal voice." she whispered.

"Nice top-knot" he smirked, re-examining her from out of the corner of his eyes. Had she actually shaved her head?

"It really looks dashing, doesn't it?" Yankumi whispered excitedly, "I've always wanted to go on this trip, I can't believe that I never thought of pretending to be a guy before. But something that Kyou said made me realize just how easy it would be-"

Shin put on his headphones, and music drowned out Yankumi's ramblings. Not that he was paying attention to the music either. So Kyou was meddling. Shin didn't think that the guy was rooting for him, Kyou just liked to stir things up.

"Oh, and Shin?"

"Yeah?" he looked up.

"If you ever do that again, I'll cut one of your fingers off."

Shin left his expression carefully blank and nodded. Things were definitely looking up, he thought as he discreetly curled his fingers around the place on his palm that had touched her lips.

* * *

"Isn't this more like something you would do in elementary school?" Shin asked as Yankumi carefully knotted cloth tying their ankles together. Wrists were next. They had been partners in most of the events so far this week. The current event was a three-legged race, although they were calling it something else. 

Yankumi scowled at him. "It represents the strength of the bond between brothers." she said stiffly.

Shin snuck sideways looks at Yankumi. Her face was set in lines of absolute determination. And he could feel how tense her body was beside him.

Shin couldn't help sighing, all his daydreams and this was how he ended up feeling her shivering against him. Oh well, at this point if he could just prove himself capable of keeping up . . . he might tie with Yankumi for the title of Supreme Man.

The past week had given Shin quite a bit of time to observe the culture that Yankumi was so enamored of. Watching Yankumi in her natural element, it was slowly beginning to dawn on him that what he had taken for romantic interest was, in reality, more of a nostalgic fascination. It wasn't the guy on the wall who she had been attracted to, it was the ideal. Which kind of made it pointless to win the contest. Still, it was fun to compete with Yankumi.

Truthfully it was better to take it slow, better to figure her out entirely than to try to initiate a relationship too early and ruin it because he didn't understand something. Friends could be forgiven more easily than lovers. Gods he hoped he was at least in the friends category. It was easy to **say** that he was being slow and deliberate, a lot harder to stick to that when he was in constant physical contact with her. Constant contact. Hell she had him acting as a look out when she used the baths! At any time, he could have just turned around and . . .

_Tweeeeeeeeeeeeee_

The shrill tones of a whistle brought Shin back to the present, where he and Yankumi had just crossed the ribbon. She was hugging him and pounding his back simultaneously. He stared down at the shiny plastic rubber scalp of her fake topknot. It was a good thing that he was already flushed from running.

* * *

The last event was mountain climbing. 

That evening, in the mountains, they both laid on the ground shivering a little.

Shin tried to offer his blanket to her, but it was like offering your jacket to a guy, they'd die of hypothermia before accepting.

Yankumi hadn't brought a blanket. Apparently sleeping out in the open in the mountains was another one of those manly fundoshi things.

"We made good time. I think that we got the furthest." Yankumi said, trying to be discreet about the fact that she was huddled over, shivering for warmth.

"Yeah," Shin agreed noncommittally, deliberately wrapping his blanket around himself.

"We could have gotten further though, you were distracted by something" she didn't look at him.

"This is kind of like being on the roof at school." Shin observed, avoiding the subject.

"Come on, it's part of the experience, taking about deep things underneath the stars." Yankumi said, her voice carrying a reprimand for changing the subject.

"This is deep?" Shin muttered.

The silence lengthened.

Insects hummed.

Stars glittered.

"I guess that I had a goal in mind when I signed up for this." he paused to consider his words, "somehow I ended up doing something completely different, so I've been thinking about why I'm here."

"Oh Sawada," Yankumi cried sentimentally, "You do understand the wonders of brotherhood!" as she ruffled his hair and swept him into the most unromantic bear hug imaginable, part hammer-lock part vise. Ribs might have cracked.

Shin scowled and struggled half-heartedly, "Get off, you're just trying to steal my blanket." he complained, elbowing her.

"No, we're having a moment." Yankumi proclaimed, giggling

"Besides" he could hear the aggressive note enter her voice. "If I really wanted your blanket, do you honestly think that you could keep it from me?

Shin swallowed nervously. Common sense said that he should back down. But some things were irresistible.

"Yeah." he grinned, tugging sharply at the blanket so that she tumbled to the ground.

30 minutes later, Shin lay bruised, exhilarated, and blanket-less underneath the stars. He'd never had a chance.

Curled up in his blanket, Yankumi snored loudly beside him.

That morning, Yankumi wore his blanket like a cape as they finished climbing up the mountain.

It was a battle of wills. Shin waited for her to say something. Yankumi skipped up the mountain like a cheerful, oblivious idiot, cape fluttering behind her.

Finally, around noon, "it's a symbol of my victory" Yankumi announced, sticking her tongue out at him as they stopped to rest and drink water.

"I didn't ask." he looked blandly up at the blue sky, "you look ridiculous though."

"Well, you were a good competitor, but I'm definitely winning that trophy." Yankumi bragged as they made their way down the mountain.

Shin shrugged, "I haven't been trying to to win the trophy, Yankumi." he hadn't since he realized that she was the competition.

Yankumi stared at him incredulously, "Of course you have! Why else would you come?"

Shin simply smiled at her.

"So how are things going with Shinohara?" he asked, changing the subject. He had a theory that he wanted to test out.

"Shinohara-san is fine" Yankumi replied, becoming suddenly very preoccupied with a hangnail.

"Did you climb this mountain and think, _I might be stepping where Shinohara stepped_." Shin stepped steadily closer. They were toe to toe.

"Or touch a weight and think, _Shinohara's hands were here_?" he murmured, taking her hand in his, running his fingers over the pads of her palms.

She stood rock still. Her eyes were very wide.

"Did you drink from a glass, thinking _Shinohara's lips were here_" he whispered, so close that the breath of his voice disturbed the wisps of hairs that escaped her pony tail.

She hadn't moved, except for a fine trembling. But Shin wondered if perhaps it was him trembling. He felt a cold anger when he saw how strongly the though of someone else affected her. If he kissed her now, would she imagine Shinohara's lips? Even now, did she imagine Shinohara's touch?

She stepped back, laughing awkwardly. "You're being weird Shin" her cheeks were flushed.

"Yeah." Shin stepped back, shoving his hands in his pockets. What kind of idiot was Shinohara, to have Yankumi in love with him like that and never make any kind of move? Shin was thinking graphically of the things that he would like to do. Really, what the hell was wrong with Shinohara?

"Hey Yankumi!"

She looked at him warily.

"The Matsuri competition, this event, does Shinohara participate in a lot of these kinds of things?"

Yankumi's eyes lit up and she spent the next several hours detailing Shinohara's prowess at everything from ping pong tournaments to Sumo in glowing, dreamy tones.

Shin simply listened. Cataloging every detail, a small smile on his face. Things were becoming much clearer now.

Next Chapter: Hang My Picture On Your Wall

A/N: Hey, weekly updates, just like I promised! This chapter is even long. Somehow it was unexpectedly serious, sorry if that was disappointing '. Thanks to everyone who left reviews, they give me all kinds of warm fuzzy feelings.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2 : Hang My Picture on Your Wall

Shin strolled casually into the dojo attached to Yankumi's house. Kyou, Tetsu, and the rest of the males in the household except for the chief were scattered a little too casually across the room, big grins plastered on their faces as they shot him knowing looks.

"So how was it?" Kyou asked as he did his arm-reps.

"Interesting." Shin replied, leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

"Is your picture going to go up on the wall?" Kyou grunted.

"I'm no longer sure that's the best idea." Shin watched Kyou with narrowed eyes.

"Giving up already?" Kyou smirked.

"Or realizing when I've been set up."

"Oh, did you not enjoy yourself?" Kyou's weights clanged together.

Shin found himself smiling. Kyou was an interesting person. He could see where Yankumi had picked up some of her quirks.

"For a girly lawyer, Shinohara participates in an unusual number of these events." Shin observed, changing the subject.

"We don't have anything to say about that guy" the atmosphere in the room had turned abruptly chilly at the mention of the lawyer's name.

Shin's smile broadened. So there was something going on.

"I just thought that his involvement was . . . unusual." Shin prodded further.

"That's between Shinohara and the Kumichou" Kyou growled, "but if ya wanted to the lawyer about it, I hear he plays at Sharando or Yasue's most evenings."

Shin struggled not to show his shock, aware that everyone was watching him closely. That was the place Kyou had taken him with the overly friendly nurse. And many other friendly girls.

"Oh, Yankumi's photo is going up" he called as he left the dojo, making a hasty exit, happy Yakuza were just as boisterous as angry Yakuza.

Shin fought the urge to whistle as he waited in the dark alley next to Yasue Nee-san's place. He was going to enjoy this.

* * *

He'd been waiting for a little over 2 hours already. He'd discreetly confirmed Shinohara's presence with one of the girls who working, then came out here to wait.

The alley was cold and smelled like rotten fish and other, less pleasant things. But Shin hardly noticed, his eyes were glued to the back exit of Yasue Nee-san's club, waiting.

After another 2 hours, the door opened and a slightly drunk Shinohara stumbled out.

Shin sighed. This wouldn't be nearly as satisfying if the guy was drunk. It would be easier though, he supposed.

Shin stepped out of the shadows, blocking the older man's path.

At the sudden movement, Shinohara jumped back, dropping to a fighter's crouch.

Shin smiled. Perhaps the lawyer was not so drunk. Maybe it would be fun after all.

"Why so jumpy?" Shin drawled, leaning back so as to block the exit to the alleyway.

Shinohara frowned. "Isn't it past curfew?" he asked brushing past the younger boy.

"You don't act like a man in love."

Shinohara stopped, his back tense. "What the hell are you talking about?" he turned to face Kumiko's favorite student.

"Just curious, since Yankumi seems so interested in you. But it's all fake, isn't it? Just a shallow guy amusing himself."

"Kumiko sees what she wants to see. It isn't any of your business." the last sentence was a threat, as Shinohara attempted to grab Shin's shirt collar. His breath was rank with alcohol.

Shin simply smiled as the older man's fist closed around his collar and he was jerked forward. "You compete in all of her beloved contests, wear strange clothing that she likes and constantly visit. I'd say she's seeing what you're trying to show her. Although you're right, it's not the truth. What is the truth Shinohara?"

"Look, you're just a kid with a crush on his teacher. Why don't you go inside, find a nice girl, and forget about stuff that will only get you into trouble." Shinohara smiled fiercely.

Shin burst out laughing. "Well, the narcissism isn't an act at least. Like I'd want to emulate your actions." he gave the door to Club Yasue a distasteful look, before returning to his original subject "So you're not going to tell me what's going on?"

"Look. I know that you care a lot about Kumiko. We all do! The Kumichou knows what's going on. This is all for her own good. Don't screw up Kumiko's life because you can't handle your crush."

Shin tensed. Oh yes, adults doing something 'for your own good'. This guy was definitely an idiot.

"How noble of you." Shin sneered, feeling something inside him snap at this last provocation. So he stepped forward and lifted his right arm to throw a roundhouse punch to Shinohara's jaw.

Shinohara raised an arm to deflect the punch, leaving himself wide open for Shin's kick, which swept the legs out from underneath Shinohara, dropping him to the ground.

"Do you really think that you can resolve this by fighting me?" Shinohara asked as he pushed himself up from the slick pavement.

"No" Shin smiled, the cell phone that he had palmed from Shinohara during the scuffle was hidden safely in his pocket. "I got what I came for." he said as he turned and headed towards the front of the alley, whistling cheerfully.

Shinohara limped back to his car wondering what was wrong with today's youth. He wasn't particularly worried about the kid. Kumiko was fiercely loyal and bull-headed, she would never listen to any accusations.

Shin slipped into Yasue Nee-san's place. Even at 2 am there was still quite a crowd. He'd found out on a previous visit which room Shinohara frequented. It was apparently common knowledge that Noriko was his current favorite. She was a tiny, delicate looking girl with long silky black hair.

Keeping his cap pulled low over his face and his head down, Shin slipped through the hallways until he found Noriko's room.

He knocked softly then waited for a few minutes to be sure that there was no response. He twisted the handle and walked in, surprised that the door had been unlocked. The room was dark, but there was the shape of a body underneath the covers on the bed. Shin shook his head in disapproval, the lawyer hadn't even locked the door behind him.

Walking softly, Shin deposited Shinohara's cel phone on the table next to the girl's bed and equally quietly left the room, locking the door behind him.

* * *

Next Chapter: 99 Bottles of Beer and a Hammer

A/N: Yeah, so, this chapter was mainly plot development. It had to happen at some point. And who doesn't love a devious Shin?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3 : 99 Bottles of Beer and a Hammer

Yankumi looked up in annoyance, someone was hovering near the door. It actually happened a lot, for a variety of reasons, none of them good. Most of them annoying. So she might have slammed the door open, scowling, hoping to scare the visitor off.

Noriko certainly jumped and squeaked like a bunny about to bolt for the nearest cover. Noriko was Yankumi's age, they had gone to the same school in fact.she had been terrified of Yankumi then as well.

"Hey, Noriko!" Yankumi softened her voice, "What brought your visit? Is everything alright" It was unusual for Yasue's girls to come over unless there was trouble. But what kind of trouble could there be in the morning?

"Oh, umm, everything is fine." Noriko stuttered, fumbling with something in her hands. "Shinohara-san just left his phone in my room last night and I was hoping to return it to him promptly. I know how important phones are for lawyers and I'd hate to cause him any kind of inconvenience, you see I really lo"

"He's not here." Yankumi interrupted, staring at the cell phone held in Noriko's perfectly manicured hands. There was no mistaking it.

Noriko's face fell. "But I didn't know his address." The girl stuttered into the icy silence, "and I was hoping to see him here." Noriko's lower lip trembled.

"He's not here right now." Yankumi carefully changed her expression changed from that of a demon to the congenial, dopey expression she used at school. "but I'll make sure that he gets it. You should sit down and rest before heading out again. We've put you to too much trouble running these kinds of errands." There was no reason to take her anger out on Noriko, not when there were other, better targets.

"Thank you." Noriko brushed past Yankumi, into the house and sat down delicately, like a flower bending in the wind. Yankumi grimaced, she hadn't meant to invite her in either. Tetsu dutifully brought tea.

"Shinohara certainly is hard to catch." Noriko smiled ruefully up at Yankumi as the Ojou-san poured tea. "I guess I must seem a little sad, chasing after him like this."

Yankumi's face stiffened.

"He drifts to a new girl every month and I'm sure that I won't be any different. I find myself trying to see him as much as I can before he grows tired of me."

"It sounds like a painful love." Yankumi said quietly.

Noriko nodded, staring down at her tea and biting her lip. The room was quiet for a moment.

"Oh! I met one of your students the other day." Noriko laughed, her face back to the charming smile she usually wore.

"Really, one of my students was there?" Yankumi's face was scary again.

"Oh, don't be so stern, kids should have fun!" Noriko giggled, "Besides, this is a good story, a good story!"

"A few weeks ago Kyou brought a boy with him, and he was soooooooo pretty. I thought the girls were going to start fighting over him. He had his hair dyed red the way lots of kids these days do."

"Anyway, Kyou kept telling him 'We have to make a man out of you' and telling him to 'do it', but the boy just lounged back and said that none of the girls were interesting," Noriko covered her mouth and laughed quietly, "When a guy acts like that, he already has someone who he likes. It was so cute to see a young kid like that in love. "

Yankumi's head sank to the table, 'Why is Kyou trying to corrupt my best student and the son of the police chief?' she thought to herself, wincing and deliberately not thinking about Shinohara until there was no one within harming distance.

"To tell the truth" Noriko continued, oblivious to Yankumi's anguish, "we all thought it strange that ojou-san would decide to start teaching . . . but if they're making high school students like that these days . . ." Noriko sighed dreamily.

Without looking up, Yankumi pointed to the class photograph hanging on the wall.

Noriko examined it closely, "Oh, so he's just a fluke." There was a period of silence. Then the sound of footsteps exiting.

When the door clicked closed, Yankumi lifted her head enough to see the pile of papers on one side of the table and the playboy bastard Shinohara's phone on the other side of the table.

Raising her head further, she caught sight of the boxes where Tetsu kept the sake. That was it. Always look for the third option.

* * *

Yankumi looked up blearily from her nth cup of sake. She giggled, some kind of math teacher she was, who couldn't count. Well, it had been a lot. Shin would have been able to keep track, he was annoying like that. 

"You've had seven since I got here—You definitely had a lot more before that" Shin said, as if queued.

"Oh, are you really here? I thought I was just imagining you" Yankumi stared at him in fascination.

"Kyou sent me in here to keep an eye on you when he heard banging noises" Shin leaned in closer to her, "So you imagine me when you're drunk, Yankumi?" he smiled.

"Yes, I imagine a little Shin, counting the sake cups. You never make a mistake." She laughed and gave him a friendly slap on the back. Sure, Shin was a little annoying, but he was a good kid. Very dependable.

Shin had a pained look on his face. Had she hit him too hard? Minoru and Tetsu were always complaining that she was violent when she was drunk. Wimps. That did remind her though, she'd had a hammer. Where had it gone?

"Shin," she smiled sweetly, "where's my hammer?"

"What hammer, Yankumi?"

He had a good poker face, She'd give him that.

"Look, kid." she lunged across the table, yanking him towards her by his jacket collar. School uniforms had good collars, perfect for yanking on. "You think I don't know when someone has my hammer? Return my hammer!"

It would have been much more intimidating if she hadn't crumpled over and started heaving after the last demand. The sudden movement had been too much for her stomach.

She grabbed for the small garbage bin that was normally in the corner of the room. Soothing hands smoothed the hair back from her face. She hadn't eaten much, but there had been a lot of alcohol. When there was nothing left, she sighed and rested her forehead against the wonderfully cool metal rim of the garbage bin. Now that the vomiting was done, she could feel the headache waiting to swoop in.

"Why do you need the hammer, Yankumi?" he murmured, still stroking her hair. Her mom had done that when she was sick too.

"I missed one" she had a hard time getting the words out of her raw throat. It was a good thing there wasn't class tomorrow.

"What did you miss?"

She pointed mutely to a small picture hanging on the wall, almost hidden by a plant.

"Oh. So you did." he sounded like he was trying not to laugh. Damn brat.

"I'll smash it if you prefer" she looked up. He must have been holding the hammer out to her for awhile.

Wordlessly, she swung herself to her feet and accepted the hammer. She missed and hit the wall a couple of times but the third swing was the charm.

She sank very carefully to the floor, cradling the hammer to her cheek, hammers were good.

"You had a lot of pictures of Shinohara in here" Shin said quietly.

She nodded, her feelings of satisfaction at having smashed the last of his pictures changing abruptly to misery. She hugged the hammer closer and and shivered, sniffling loudly as she tried not to cry.

"I'm sorry" he was staring down at the table, "I didn't realize how strongly you felt about him"

He sounded miserable too. Was he also in love with Shinohara? Yankumi sighed, staring up at the ceiling. Hadn't it been just a minute ago?

Yankumi heard the door click. She was alone with her misery at last. This wasn't really something she wanted anyone else to see. It was embarrassing and childish.

Yankumi was startled when she felt the heavy folds of the blanket on top of her. She hadn't heard anyone come back in. She must have drifted off. She looked up to see Shin sitting beside her, his back against the wall.

"How'd the guys rope you into this, anyway?" she asked, staring up at the neat geometric design the timbers made in the ceiling.

"I volunteered" he had another one of those enigmatic smiles on his face.

"You really do have a strong maternal instinct, don't you Shin?" she smiled as she wrapped herself more snugly in the blanket, avoiding the broken glass on the floor.

The look he shot her was incredulous, "I can guarantee that I have no maternal feelings towards you Yankumi."

Yankumi hid her smile, it was cute how defensive he was about his softer side.

"Hey Yankumi."

"Yeah?" she drawled, half asleep.

"Why did you love Shinohara?"

She stiffened, no longer feeling pleasantly drowsy. "I'm done drinking sake and whining."

"Yeah, but you didn't say anything coherent then."

The silence stretched and wrapped around them.

"I don't know anymore" she admitted, "I guess I admired his strength. He was always protecting us from the Okami. And he was very pretty. Especially in a fundoshi." she mumbled the last bit.

"But it was like having a crush on an idol. It was just my idea of him. I didn't know the real Shinohara at all." she sighed, the moonlight glinted on the hundreds of glass shards scattered throughout the room.

"If I was in love with someone" his voice sounded reluctant, "I would pursue that person relentlessly until they loved me back." he looked sharply at her, "you could make Shinohara love you back, Yankumi."

"Could I?" She wondered aloud, "No, it wasn't love, it was a dream, a misunderstanding, something safe and impossible."

"You must still be drunk, you're being incoherent again."

She grinned. "make yourself useful brat and clean up." She must have nodded off after that because the next thing she remembered was waking up to the sounds of Tetsu making breakfast. The floor was pristine.

Next Chapter: Shin, Detective Kindaichi

* * *

A/N – Well, the one chapter a week thing got off to a good start. Oh well. Thank you for all of the lovely reviews, they bring happiness equivalent to caffeine and chocolate. It's also nice to know that there are other people out there who prefer a slightly darker Shin.

Hopefully Shin's actions from last chapter are clearer now. For those of you who like things clear cut: Shin set Shinohara up (well, Shinohara was doing things anyway, but Shin arranged for Yankumi to find out in a way that she would believe). If, for some reason, the phone thing hadn't worked, Shin would have just tried something else. But returning a cell phone is a simple thing, and simple plans generally work. The ramifications of Shin's little set-up will be further explored in the next chapter, probably not in a way that anyone is suspecting.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4: Shin, Detective Kindaichi

Yankumi massaged her forehead as she graded student exams. She already had a headache so she figured she might as well get something done.

She sighed and thought longingly of the sunshine and fresh air outside, of sparring--it would be great to relieve some pent-up aggression. A lot of pent-up aggression. But she grimly continued to grade the papers, she wanted to be here when Shinohara got here. Things needed to be taken care of.

The day crawled by as time does. The pile of papers covered with angry red slashes and single digit numbers grew.

Finally, around 3 in the afternoon, Shinohara announced himself with his usual polite reserve.

Yankumi greeted him with equally polite reserve.

If he noted the lack of her usual breathless, starry-eyed response, he did not mention it.

"Is the Kumichou in?" he asked, "there are a few matters . . ."

"He is," Yankumi replied, using polite language, "but I also have a few matters that I wish to discuss." she waved to a cushion at the table.

Wordlessly, Shinohara sat down.

* * *

Shin frowned from his position in the doorway, he was glad that he'd managed to be here for Yankumi's confrontation with Shinohara. Maybe it would do something to dampen his own desire to beat the lawyer – not a wise move at this point in his plans. The other men of the kumi held similar eavesdropping positions along the doorway, space was a little tight, actually. 

He had thought that Yankumi would beat Shinohara to a pulp, but she hadn't. This was better. Her cold words doused any lingering anger. Yankumi was only passionate about things that she cared about, the lawyer was no longer one of them.

Shin felt something relax inside of him. He had not realized how much it had bothered him – Yankumi's infatuation. Now, he probably had some kind of idiot grin spread across his face. It was ok, the other guys did too. Theirs may have been a different kind of love, but knowing that their Ojou was being strung along had clearly not rested well with them either. It made Shin wonder why they had not done anything earlier. In fact, a lot of things were making Shin wonder, he eyed Kyou speculatively. It was time to talk.

The next day found Shin slouching in a doorway of another one of the Kumi's buildings, awaiting his appointment with Kyou. It was one of the downtown offices. Shin was nervous. Things were coming together rapidly now regarding Yankumi and if he couldn't see the entire picture yet, he could see enough of the picture to realize that it didn't include himself.

Which is why he wasn't surprised when, he felt the cool presence of a knife against his neck. Nor was he surprised that Kyou was the one holding the blade.

Shin had been in enough fights with knives to know just how much of a disadvantage he was at. It was probably a better idea to hold still and see what Kyou wanted. But, Shin had never been the type to be submissive, no matter how badly things turned out. So he lunged backwards, jabbing his heel into Kyou's instep and using his hands to pull Kyou's torso forward, throwing Kyou over his shoulder. The move worked beautifully; Kyou had taught it to him.

Rolling with a knife is a more dangerous version of running with scissors. But Kyou seemed to be up to the challenge. He came up in a fighter's crouch, his eyes trained on Shin.

Shin leaned back against the wall. "So now that I've taken care of the problem, you don't want me hanging around her either." It was more of a statement than a question.

"You really are a bright kid, aren't you?" Kyou grinned and started to use the knife to clean his fingernails. Somehow it still seemed threatening. "If you understand the situation then I don't need to take this any further."

"you're pretty stupid though." Shin's voice was cold. He didn't like being played with and he had begun to trust this man. "Generally the best way to get a kid to do something is to tell them not to do it and you clearly still think of me as a kid."

Kyou's grip on the knife hilt tightened.

"It's no wonder Shinohara had Yankumi dangling on a string for so long if this is the best you're capable of." Shin taunted.

Kyou was stepping towards him now.

"There's something else of course." Shin spoke rapidly, as the young chief advanced, knife-first, "if your actual purpose was to get me to stop hanging around Yankumi you would have thought it through more."

Kyou seemed to cringe a little.

"There's a reason that Shinohara was instructed to act that way by the kumichou."

Kyou eyed Shin grimly and took out a bigger knife.

"Which probably had something to do with the fact that all of you knew about the situation but didn't do anything yourselves."

"This is really something you should stay out of" Kyou's words sounded resigned.

Shin continued as if he hadn't heard, "You think you're protecting her and you think you're protecting me." Shin paused and looked at Kyou, gaging his reaction. "If the chief were to find out what I had done and what I know, you wouldn't just be here to scare me off, you'd be serious."

"He'd do anything to protect Kumiko." Kyou had put the knives away.

"But if you thought that I were a threat to Yankumi, I'd be dead." Shin smiled.

"Just as long as you understand the situation." Kyou shrugged.

Shin smiled. Kyou liked him enough to warn him and trusted him enough to ask for his help. Even if Yankumi was clueless, it was good to know that he had the support of the other men in the Kumi.

* * *

Shin buried his head in his hands, thinking longingly of the quiet solitude of the roof. The classroom was too noisy for his current mood, but his desire to keep an eye on Yankumi overrode his desire for solitude. 

Chalk missiles flew by occasionally and several conversations were being held at once. None of them involved the Pythagorean Theorem, which Yankumi was currently trying to explain. Normally she would make some sort of attempt to catch the class's attention, but today it was like she was just reading from a script.

Shin let her voice wash over him as he tried to connect what he knew in some meaningful way. Why would the Kumichou find it so important to have Yankumi in love with Shinohara? He knew that Yankumi's mother had run off with a state worker and left the group. Given what he knew of people in authority: their certainty that they knew what was right for a person and their desire to "fix" mistakes of the past with the current generation, he decided that it was time to do some research on Yankumi's parents.

Shin decided to start with the newspapers at the public library. He had a rough idea of when her parents died and where she had lived. Her parents looked surprisingly ordinary. Their obituaries were brief, cause of death was excluded. It was a little unusual. He knew from Yankumi that they had supposedly died in a car accident. This time, Shin searched for reports of fatal car accidents during that time frame. There was only one, it involved a young boy.

Shin walked to the librarian's desk.

"Excuse me."

The librarian looked up from her computer with the air of someone with very little remaining patience. Upon seeing Shin's face, the attitude changed to smiling attentiveness. Shin felt bored. Women were really annoying.

"I'm trying to search for auto-accidents involving fatalities for this date range." he held out a slip of paper. "I searched the old newspapers, but I was wondering if there might be any other places this information could be found."

"Well, let me see," she reached for the paper, pouting that cute boy had already withdrawn his hand. The census and auto-insurance companies keep public databases of that kind of thing," her hands flitted over the keyboard.

"Thanks, I'll check that out." Shin turned to leave.

"Oh no! Let me." she smiled, pushing her glasses more firmly on her nose. She hadn't even finished the sentence before the printer hummed to life, discreetly emitting a few sheets of paper.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" she asked as she handed him the printouts.

"No, just this." Shin grabbed the papers and hurried away.

The search had turned up a few more matches but none of them could have been Yankumi's parents.

* * *

Laying down at his favorite spot on the stream bank, Shin considered his options. He could check the police files easily enough, thanks to his father's position, he could also go to Yankumi's old neighborhood and ask there. Neighborhood gossip rarely missed anything. Somehow it didn't sit well though. It felt too much like the arbitrary way that adults interfered in the lives of others. He made paper airplanes out of the printouts and watched the wind pick them up until they were out of sight. No, going behind someone's back wasn't something a friend would do. 

The next day, Shin waited until Yankumi came up to the rooftop. It wasn't long. She was restless these days. It was almost painful to watch her. He had to keep his hands firmly in his pockets to control the desire to hug her. Revisiting the alley and actually beating the shit out of Shinohara was a growing temptation as well.

Yankumi flopped down next to him, staring up at the sky. She had become the quiet one. In the past few days he had found himself talking, just because she seemed to need so desperately to be distracted. The sky, the seasons, books, frustrations, everything slipped out, things he hadn't even known he was holding back.

Today though, instead of simply creating a distraction of words for her to escape into, he offered an invitation. He had made a decision.

"Hey Yankumi" she turned slightly to look at him, the lethargy of the rooftop had already stilled her movements, "there's no school tomorrow. Take me to Ueno."

"You want to go to the zoo?" puzzlement broke through her apathy.

Shin favored her with a look he saved for her denser moments, "Ueno is where you used to live, right?"

She nodded cautiously a smile hesitantly on her lips as her face took on the far-away look of someone caught in memories.

"Then you can show me around the area. You owe me for all of this moping" he looked over at her to make sure she was still paying attention. "I'll be at the station at 10:00 am."

"Sure" she shrugged, feeling puzzled but she didn't pursue it like she normally would. At least it would be a distraction.

Next Chapter : Ask Me No Questions

* * *

A/N: This chapter is a little sleepy, isn't it? More plot development than romance--but there is a plot, I like to think. Or at least the fact that Shin is very carefully planning out how to win over Yankumi. Otaku points for anyone who gets the full meaning of this chapter's title, I'll post it in my author's notes for the next chapter. And thanks to everyone who has been posting reviews, they're on the dark chocolate and caffeine level of yumminess. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5 : Ask Me No Questions

Shin waited nervously in front of the station. It wasn't actually a date, but still.

Yankumi showed up promptly at 10:00 a.m. She was wearing a skirt. Somehow, he'd thought that she would show up in a sweat suit and track shoes, even though she did wear skirts sometimes at home.

"Hey, Shin!" she spotted him and waved enthusiastically as she ran over.

Yankumi was in a good mood. Shit. Shin felt a wave of guilt sweep over him. It was the first time he'd seen her smiling in a week and he was going to spring this on her.

Shin showed his student pass to the gate attendant and boarded the rail car, without ever saying a word to Yankumi.

Beside him, Yankumi was effervescently bubbling with words.

"You know, I haven't been back there since Oji-san came to get me? But I still remember the park by my house, grumpy old lady Honda, who was always yelling at me for climbing her tree."

Shin stood beside her silently watching the endless stream of concrete buildings flow by. Maybe it was nothing, maybe there wasn't anything to his suspicions. Who was he to ruin her happy family life. Somehow, trying to catch her attention seemed to have turned into hurting Yankumi.

Shin sighed, it was up to Yankumi now. For the moment, he enjoyed having the old Yankumi back. Pressed together on the train, he bent over her slightly, both to shield her from shoving and so that he could hear her voice over the noise of the train and other passengers. He'd missed this closeness that they'd had during the camp.

They got off the train. Yankumi would run ahead, pointing things out and climbing on top of benches.

Finally, impatient with Shin's slow pace, she caught his hand and pulled him forward.

He couldn't help the blush that spread across his face as he felt her warm fingers curl around his. Her grip was strong and he found himself pulled into her enthusiasm.

"This is it!" Yankumi exclaimed as they skidded to a halt in front of a small house that looked no different from the other small houses lining the street. Perhaps it was a little shabbier. The door sagged slightly, there were cracks in the wall. "I wonder who lives here now." Yankumi wondered aloud, leaning over the fence for a better look.

"Oh, are you interested in this house?" asked a pleasant looking woman, holding a bag of groceries as she opened the gate to the house next door.

"No one's living here?" Yankumi seemed puzzled.

"Well," the woman lowered her voice, "It has a bad reputation. The couple who lived here last were killed by Yakuza. Nobody wanted to risk somehow getting involved in that. But honestly, its been over ten years! I'm sure there's nothing to worry about." she smiled reassuringly as she stepped into the house, waving goodbye to them.

"That's funny," Yankumi laughed, "I guess all kinds of weird rumors can get started."

Shin was silent.

"My family's links to the Yakuza must have been distorted or something."

"Come on, lets go see if Mrs. Honda is still there." Yankumi said, walking with renewed energy towards the other neighboring house and pressing the intercom buzzer.

"Hello?" a wavery, old woman's voice answered.

"Is this Mrs. Honda?" Yankumi asked.

"Yes, may I ask who is calling?"

"Mrs. Honda, it's me! Yamaguchi Kumiko! I used to live next door, I-"

"Yes," the voice was cold, "I remember you. I don't know why you would come back, but I suggest that you leave before I call the police. We don't need your family making any more trouble here." the intercom went dead.

"This is really weird." Yankumi stepped back, shaken.

Shin said nothing, examining the cracks in the sidewalk with a great deal of interest.

They wound up in a desert shop. Yankumi stared at her parfait as it melted. Shin stirred his coffee with clock-like precision.

When the parfait had melted to an unrecognizable mush of cornflakes and chocolate sprinkles, Yankumi stood up and walked towards the door with grim determination. Shin followed.

She walked back to the house of the young woman who had first spoken to them about the house.

"I'm sorry to disturb you but I have a few questions about the house." Yankumi's voice was polite but insistent.

"Oh yes, you're that young couple from before. One moment."

Yankumi didn't even seem to notice being labeled as part of a couple.

"Come in, come in. And call me Junko." the woman opened the gate. "It gets so boring sometimes, with my husband working overseas, I really love to get any visitors."

In a few moments, they were settled around the table with tea and cookies.

"The couple who lived there before . . ." Yankumi started the conversation.

"Well, I didn't live here at the time, of course," Junko explained, "but Mrs. Honda has told me all about them, poor woman. I guess no neighbor is better than really bad neighbors, why my friend Chieko's neighbors . . ."

"The couple who used to live next door?" Shin repeated softly.

"Oh, yes, sorry. Although you really should know about Chieko's neighbors if you're thinking of living in this area. Anyway," she took a deep breath, returning to the story of the house next door, "They were no good!" she proclaimed dramatically and took a long sip of tea.

"I know in the past, it was more accepted, but that man used to beat his wife horribly."

Yankumi set her cup down forcefully, it clattered on the table.

"I know dear, it's simply shocking, isn't it?" the woman smiled and patted Yankumi's hand. "Drink your tea, it's getting cold."

"Not that he didn't have good reason, mind you." She picked up the story again, "he yelled so loudly all of the neighbors could hear. Apparently, the little girl they had was not his child."

This time Yankumi set the teacup down but missed the table entirely, slopping tea all over herself.

"Yes, there really are people like that." the woman tittered, covering her mouth, "so this man had taken it upon himself to provide a name for the child and support the woman. You'd think she would have been properly grateful, but she simply moped around the house like a ghost! It's no wonder he started beating her." The woman paused to nibble delicately on a rice cracker.

"But lots of people have problems, that's common really," the woman waved dismissively, "but one night, right in the middle of one of their fights, there was the sound of a gunshot!" she paused, making sure that she had her audience's full attention. "A large man with tattoos all over his body ran out of the house and a woman started screaming."

Yankumi had turned completely white.

"By the time the police arrived, there were two corpses, the husband who was shot by the wife's yakuza lover, and the wife herself. Upon seeing her dead husband, she was so overcome with remorse that she took a knife and killed herself. Which really was the only proper thing to do, after all, it was her fault that poor man had died."

"After the funeral, the wife's family stepped forward to claim the child, as brazen as you please, as if they hadn't caused the whole thing. Of course, given the circumstances it was hardly surprising that the husband's family wanted nothing to do with the child."

Yankumi sat frozen in shock.

The woman sighed happily, "Oh, it really is sordid, isn't it?" she sipped her tea and eyed a bonbon thoughtfully, "but it's in the ancient past, no reason not to buy the house. Why don't I call up the real estate agent and you two can look around." she suggested, reaching for the phone.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary" Yankumi's voice was emotionless and she rose abruptly from her chair, walking quickly to the door. Shin followed her out.

* * *

A/N: I'm pleasantly surprised by the number of hardcore gokusen fans! It seems that everyone knew that Jun Matsumoto, the actor who plays Shin in the J-drama also played Kindaichi in another drama. It's so good to know that there are other people who are obsessive like me :). I have to admit that I was a little bummed over the manga ending, so I stopped posting updates. I'm better now. Thanks to everyone who has continued to read and review. I'm going to go ahead and just post the rest of the story, so enjoy! 


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

**Chapter 6 : Do You See Me?**

Shin followed a few steps behind Yankumi. She didn't appear to be aware of anything or anyone.

First he'd taken Shinohara from her, then the Kumi. No rivals for her affection remained. Her family life had always seemed strangely happy, but it had just been that her grandfather was more subtle with his manipulations than Shin's father. There wasn't any such thing as a well-adjusted family. It wasn't really something he had wanted to know.

They had wandered into a red light district, Yankumi was receiving attention from a group of drunken guys who were determined to enjoy their weekend.

Shin stayed a few yard back, perfectly content to wait unless she actually needed help. Yankumi tended to mistake assistance for competition.

Yankumi just stared blankly at the men blocking her path. But when the first guy tried to take her arm, she reached out, twisting his arm to the side as easily as a girl swinging around a doll. The sound of bones breaking didn't rise much above the noise of traffic. In that split second, the men closed around Yankumi yelling angrily.

Shit. Shin waded in, knowing she could take care of herself, but not wanting to lose sight of her. Not wanting to take his eyes off her for a moment, afraid that she would simply disappear.

When the last of the men lay on the ground, Shin found himself standing a few inches away from Yankumi, breathing heavily. She was flushed, her eyes shone black like obsidian. She seemed to actually be looking at _him _ for once. He reached out, slowly, one hand on her shoulder the other cradling the back of her head, buried in the long black hair that had featured so prominently in so many daydreams. She was so close. He pulled her to him with a small tug. She was so tiny. He felt as if he could simply envelop her. He let his face rest on the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her. He groaned, pulling her closer still, lowering his head. He would devour her.

But then he saw her eyes. Actually saw them. She was still staring at the same place. It wasn't that she'd been staring at him, just staring blindly straight ahead. She hadn't moved, hadn't made a sound. Cold water couldn't have had as strong an affect. Shin stepped away, keeping only a hand on her shoulder. To steady her. Or perhaps he simply couldn't let go. No matter how hopeless.

"Yankumi." he said, then louder, "Yankumi!" She simply didn't respond. He ended up taking her hand and walking.

They walked for miles.

The sun set and the spring air grew chilly. Shin put his jacket around Yankumi. She didn't seem to notice. Her hand was cold in his. He walked them back to his apartment. She stumbled on the stairs so he carried her. She should have felt heavier, more substantial, not like something that would float away. He held her more tightly than was strictly necessary.

His apartment was as cold as the outside had been. Yankumi's shivering was becoming more violent. She hadn't eaten anything except for the parfait earlier that day. And she hadn't actually eaten that. He set her down in the bathroom, turning on the hot water and setting towels out.

Shin eyed Yankumi dubiously, then jammed his hands into his pockets, thoughts of Yankumi showering running through his head, with vivid sensory details. He closed his eyes. It didn't help. He'd have to just leave her in here. Even if she just stood there, the heat from the water would warm the room. He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Yankumi's hands had gone to her blouse, fumbling with a button.

Shin ran out of the bathroom, pulling the door shut behind him. His hands were trembling a little. He ignored it. She needed to eat something. So he walked to the kitchen, putting more space between them. There were bars on his windows. She wouldn't leave. The kitchen was between the bathroom and the front door. She wouldn't leave.

Five minutes later, a shivering Yankumi with blue lips appeared in the kitchen, "What's wrong with your hot water?" she bit out, her teeth chattering. The towel she had on was barely long enough to cover her thighs, and was already wet enough to start clinging to curves he hadn't thought she had. She looked miserable, she was weak to the cold.

Shin twitched, miserable or not, she would probably not welcome a warming hug. "There shouldn't be anything wrong with the hot water" he said, staring with determination at her toes. They were blue too. He caught his hand as it started to reach towards her.

"I'll go check it" he mumbled as he brushed past her to get to the bathroom. Had his apartment always been this small?

Yankumi trailed behind him, managing to look small and pitiful.

Shin pulled and turned the appropriate knobs but only icy cold water came out. Damn. "I'm sorry, Yankumi, there's no way I can get ahold of the landlord at this time of night ..." his voice trailed off as he heard a loud sniffle.

He turned reluctantly to look at Yankumi. She had turned blue enough to match his bathroom tiles, except for her face, which had turned red, tears dripped down her cheeks. She rubbed a hand across her nose as she sniffled again. Her towel, without her hands to support it, looked as if it would drop to the floor at any moment.

"Ah, shit," he sighed in defeat and, grasping the back of her head, pulled her against him. The towel wasn't covering anything. Yankumi's naked body was definitely against his. "This has been a really bad night, huh?" he patted the back of her head awkwardly with one hand while he rummaged in the closet next to him for a blanket, wrapping it around her until only her face poked out.

"Come on" he murmured, picking her up and holding her against his chest. "Lets get you warm" He walked the short distance to his couch, where he set her down. Then he methodically plugged in the heater and retrieved the soup he'd been heating from the kitchen.

She ate mechanically, huddling into a ball again when she was done.

* * *

A/N: The original version of this chapter was less angsty. But after re-reading the chapters where Yankumi is wondering about her father, an angsty tone seemed more appropriate. That and angsty Shin is fun. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7 : Saying the Wrong Thing**

"Hey," Shin said, poking Yankumi again, "Wake up!"

After 10 minutes of this futile exercise, he just called the school, pretending to be someone from Yankumi's family and informed the school that she was ill. Maybe he didn't try as hard to wake her up as he could have. Having Yankumi in his apartment was interesting; he was in no hurry for her to leave.

He did talk to his landlord about the water and run to the convenience store on the corner for breakfast food. Not that he ever ate breakfast himself, but Yankumi seemed like the type who needed regular meals. Someone that skinny with that much energy probably fainted if they missed so much as a meal. It was a good thing that Tetsu was there to provide regular meals. His efforts would probably not compare well to Tetsu's, Shin realized, grimacing, as he set about making omelettes. The idea of coming in second to someone was distasteful.

As the small apartment filled with the aroma of eggs and spices, Yankumi burst into the kitchen, exclaiming frantically about being late.

Shin looked up then hastily looked back down again. She was still wearing just the blanket from last night. She had not, apparently noticed the clothes he had left stacked beside her.

Shin sighed, "I already called the school and told them you were sick." Shin glanced up, she looked slightly less crazy now. Which meant that she looked tousled, like someone who had just . . . "and could you please put some clothes on? I'm worried about my reputation." Shin said in a careful monotone, transferring the omelettes to plates.

Yankumi's jaw worked soundlessly for a moment, then she turned on her heel and fled back towards the living room. The door slammed behind her and violent, banging noises ensued.

Yankumi was sitting, slouched, in one of his chairs, staring at the rain as it fell against his window. His clothes were a bit large, but they made her seem exotic. When she wasn't concentrating on looking harmless, she could wear anything and look natural. It was that air of confidence. But still, boys clothes suited her more than girls clothes, perhaps.

She looked up when he set her breakfast at the table. After awhile she poked at her omelette half-heartedly.

Shin frowned.

Hey, about last night," she said gruffly, mashing up the omelette with her fork.

"Yeah?" Shin stared at the omelette, she hadn't even tried a bite.

"Well, just don't go getting any ideas!"

Shin's stomach twisted.

"I'm still a hundred times stronger than you, it was just a bad night!" she glared at him fiercely.

"Stronger?" Shin echoed in disbelief, standing up abruptly.

"Yeah." Yankumi stood as well, straightening her shoulders and scowling up at him.

"Yankumi, how dense are you?" he stepped forward as she blinked up at him in confusion. His hands closed on her shoulders and his lips met hers. The kiss was fierce, the product of so much time spent holding back, watching, wanting. Her lips were already parted, his tongue slid against hers. Impossible. Wet and sweet.

She was making soft noises, half-whimpers into his mouth. One of his hands had moved to her hair, burying itself in the silky strands for the second time in twenty-four hours.

He had a brief glimpse of panicked brown eyes before being sent flying across the room.

Shin pushed himself up off the carpet, but she was already gone. The door still wavered on its hinges.

Shit.

He let his head bang into the wall. That had been stupid, really stupid. And of course she'd run out without an umbrella or a jacket. He sighed and closed his eyes, where would Yankumi go?

* * *

A/N: I believe that all first kisses should be disastrous and painful. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8: Rain, Rain . . .**

Yankumi sat in the grass, staring at the raindrops falling into the pond. She didn't even remember coming here, just Shin's apartment then yelling at her grandfather, then here. She was not going to think about the incident that had caused her to run out here, not going to think about the look in Shin's eyes before she'd punched him, not going to think about stupid boys who would kiss just anyone when they were supposed to have a girlfriend who they were madly in love with. Grandparents who withheld the truth for almost 20 years, bastard lawyers who pretended to be interested while secretly laughing, stupid kids who casually kissed. First kiss. Yankumi realized with a start that that had been her first kiss.

* * *

"You!" Yankumi's figure abruptly appeared through the curtains of rain.

Shin breathed a sigh of relief at finding her.

"What the hell were you thinking, kissing someone when you already have a girl who you like?!?'

He dodged just in time to avoid a punch that knocked several branches loose from the tree behind him.

"I thought you were my friend!" he took the next punch in the gut and doubled over gasping.

Shin was yanked up by his shirt collar, "That was my-"

"First kiss?" he finished her sentence, unable to hold back the smile, even with the pain in his stomach.

Yankumi's eyes turned murderous.

Rainwater beaded on Yankumi's upper lip.

Shin grimaced and took his life in his hands for the second time that day. He leaned forward placing his lips against hers in a chaste kiss.

Yankumi's eyes went wide and she leaped back, gesturing wildly at Shin, "Are you some kind of a kiss fiend?" she sputtered, scrubbing at her mouth, "is it a disease?"

Shin scowled, "Didn't you like it even a little?" he asked, feeling tired.

Yankumi turned beet red.

"I love you." he said. It was all the only thing left.

"You're infatuated." she interrupted him, eyes flat.

This was the face that she showed to enemies. He realized with surprise that she was hurt, not because of Shinohara, but because of him.

"Is even the idea of my love painful?" the thought escaped his lips and trembled uncertainly in the air between them. He sounded pathetic.

"Until a week ago, you had a steady girlfriend who you claimed you were madly in love with." She smiled. It was an awful, cynical smile, from an adult to a child.

"Girlfriend?" Shin echoed, searching his mind frantically. He'd never had a girlfriend.

"Noriko mentioned her, then you talked about her that night after I broke the pictures. You said you loved her! You said you loved her and you don't even remember!?!" she had crossed the distance between them and clenched her hands in his jacket, as if she would shake him, "You held me and kissed me! I'm not some safe older woman you can play with and-"

Shin covered her hands with his, there was a strange feeling in his stomach. It might be relief. It might be happiness. He laughed incredulously, "It was you. The whole time I was talking about you!"

"Me? No, I- That's not-" she stammered, staring at him.

"For the past six months I have spent all day in school, after school, even vacations finding every excuse to hang around you. Who else could it be?" his eyes were wild now.

Her lips had curled into what might be a smile. She quickly scowled and glared at him, raindrops sliding down her glasses. "That doesn't matter. No ethical teacher would ever get involved with her student." she crossed her arms.

"Ah" Shin smiled and took off his jacket.

"What are you doing?" Yankumi's eyes widened. He only wore a t-shirt underneath the coat and the wet fabric clung to him like a second skin, revealing surprisingly well-defined pectoral muscles, abdominal muscles, all kinds of muscles.

"You crossed your arms, that means you're cold" he explained, as he draped his jacket over her.

For a brief moment, Yankumi was encased in those arms, with all of those muscles, producing all of that body heat. He radiated heat. Yankumi might have leaned into him by an infinitesimally small amount.

"Your jacket is soaked, it won't help." she looked up at him, trying to sound severe but failing. His red hair painted scarlet stripes across his high cheekbones. Drops of rainwater beaded on his full lips.

"Then I'll hold you, I'm very warm." he whispered into her ear, his arms tightening around her.

* * *

And this is how Kyou found them, several hours later. Kumiko wrapped in Shin's arms and Shin's coat as they lay in the wet grass underneath one of the park's maple trees. The sun had long since set. Yankumi sleeping as Shin ran his hands lazily through her inky black hair. Noiselessly, Kyou turned and walked back to the house.

* * *

A/N: This is it. The end. There's a lot of other stuff left only vaguely explained, and I don't plan on explaining it. This story is about Shin and Yankumi, the rest of the pieces are for you to fill in. At this point I think that all of my readers are brilliant, so I'm sure that you can do it. There were a lot of different storylines in the manga that gave birth to this fic, but ultimately I just wanted this final scene. I hope that you liked it too, thanks for sticking with me everyone. Owari. 


End file.
